Chapter 5: Bickering Over Firewood and Rice Reveals the Household's Ugly Character — Fanning the Flames, Zongkong Stirs Strife Between Cousins

Now, Ling Guixing's old family home was in Mude Li ward. But because his father had made a great fortune, a house had been built in the provincial capital as well. Guixing, using his studies as his pretext, spent most of his time in the city, and his family moved back and forth between the two residences frequently. This time, having come with Ma the Half-Immortal to inspect the geomantic site, he took the opportunity to return to the old home, which was why he had sent Half-Immortal on ahead.

Zongkong, who had gone to the provincial capital to wait on Guixing during the examination results, had not been home for many days. Now, having obtained this new task from Guixing, he accompanied Guixing down from the hill, saw him safely back to the old home, and then went home himself for a visit. His wife, née Xie, reproached him at once: "Fine state you're in! Gone seven or eight days without a thought for the household — no firewood, no rice. Since the day before yesterday the kitchen has not had a fire lit, children wailing and weeping while I sit here alone minding everything, and there you are off somewhere enjoying yourself!" Zongkong replied, "Don't fret — I'm going back to the provincial capital again today, and I promise there will be good things coming." Lady Xie retorted, "Good things! We're nearly starving to death and you're talking about good things! Three days running, all we've had is a couple of catties of sweet potatoes, begged on credit from the stall in front of the door, standing in for a day's rice. And you're saying good things are coming!" Zongkong turned his face aside and thought for a moment. "Is there anything left in the way of clothes to pawn?" Lady Xie replied, "Listen to yourself! You think there's anything left to pawn? If so, you might as well strip the clothes off our backs — we'll all go bare-shouldered for the rest of our days." Zongkong said, "Don't be so hasty. What about jewelry — do you have any?"

Lady Xie heard this, stood up, spat full in Zongkong's face with all her might, then drew her own finger across her cheek twice in a gesture of shame. "Have you no shame at all! Those few pieces of jewelry I brought as my dowry — which one of them hasn't been gambled away by you? Have you ever bought me anything in return? You've left me with copper earrings in my ears and a copper hair-pin in my hair — go on, take them too if you want!" And with that, in a fit of temper, she tore off the copper earrings and the copper hair-pin and flung them at his face.

Zongkong, grinning sheepishly, picked them up and walked out without a word. Lady Xie wailed after him, "You wretch! Just fling them away — go on! Leave me with not even copper to wear, hair unbound and ears bare, as if I were in mourning for a husband as good as dead as you!"

Zongkong, not turning back, walked straight to Guixing's house and asked, "Young Master! Suppose Tianlai were willing to give up that stone building — how much would you be prepared to offer?" Guixing replied, "From what I hear, when it was built back in the day, it cost just over a thousand taels. Now, since it concerns geomantic matters, there is no help for it but to pay more — three or four thousand would be acceptable. If he is willing to sell, all well and good; if not, there must be no coercion. How does Uncle plan to handle it?" Zongkong said, "It would be no use talking to the women of the household. I plan to hurry to the provincial capital, go to his sugar house, and speak to Tianlai man to man." Guixing replied, "It is only that I put Uncle to all this trouble again. If the matter is settled, I will compensate you generously for your expenses." Zongkong said, "Think nothing of it — I will go and settle one matter first, then set out." Guixing asked, "What matter needs settling?" Zongkong replied, "Don't ask — when I went home just now, I found there was no firewood left and the rice was short!"

At this point, he held up the copper hair-pin and earrings, half-concealed and half-displayed, and gave them a little wave before Guixing's eyes. "I'll pawn these and let them buy some firewood and rice." Guixing replied, "Uncle has been running errands for my sake — how could I possibly let Uncle be out of pocket? There is no need to pawn those — take this." He took out ten taels of silver and handed it to Zongkong. Zongkong replied, "Tomorrow, when the matter is done, deduct it from my fee if you like — I'm too embarrassed to say thank you." And with that he took his leave, strode back home, flung the silver onto the table, and sat bolt upright with his eyes wide open, saying not a word. Lady Xie came to the table, saw that it was indeed silver, and spoke in a placating tone, "Husband! You've truly turned those copper things into silver — that's real skill!" Zongkong still said nothing, and flung the copper hair-pin and earrings at her face. Lady Xie picked them up quickly and continued coaxingly, "Husband, we are old partners in life together — a few careless words between us shouldn't count for real anger. If you made yourself ill over this, where would I be without you? Have you eaten? Shall I fix you something? What would you like? I'll go and trouble neighbor Wang Mama to come over." Zongkong still said nothing, grabbed two pieces of silver — perhaps a tael or so in weight — stood up and walked out.

Lady Xie waited until he had gone some distance, then muttered, "Ungrateful wretch! Won't be appeased! I try to get on his good side because of the silver, and he shows his temper at me!" Then she called out loudly, "Wang Mama! Wang Mama! Are you free? Come get Li Granny and Zhang Sister-in-law and play a round of Tian Jiu (a Chinese tile-dominoes game) with me! Our whatnot has gone off again! Let's all have some fun — I need to win back what I lost!"

Enough of Lady Xie. Now for Zongkong: he left his home, hired a small boat, and rowed to the provincial capital, going straight to the Tianhe Sugar House in Eighth Street to find Liang Tianlai. Since the dissolution of the Nanyong partnership, Liang Tianlai had set up the Tianhe Sugar House in Eighth Street in the provincial capital, managing everything himself along with his brother Junlai and his son Yangfu; the business was thriving. When Zongkong arrived that day, his status as a maternal uncle to the Liang boys meant they received him with due warmth. After the pleasantries were done, Zongkong said, "Nephew, your business must be going well these days — what would you say the profit margin is?" Tianlai replied, "The margin itself is modest; the hope is in high volume, which allows small gains to add up. It is really no more than getting by." Zongkong said, "There is a business matter at hand that could yield several times over — would you care to take it on? If you are willing, I will tell you what it is; if not, I shall save my breath." Tianlai laughed and said, "Where is there a business that yields several times over? Unless it is trading in antiques — but that, I'm afraid, is not my line." Zongkong replied, "This isn't quite trading in antiques, but it is somewhat similar. As long as you are willing, I will explain — what does 'being in the line' have to do with it?" Tianlai said, "Since Uncle is kindly looking out for me, and given that there is profit involved, how could I possibly refuse? I only wish I had the opportunity already!"

Zongkong said, "If you're willing, then I'll speak. My nephew Qibo (Guixing's style name) sat the examinations this year, and the examiner was blind — failed to select him. He was indignant about it, so he engaged a most skilled geomancer named Ma the Half-Immortal to inspect the ancestral tombs. According to him, the geomantic situation is excellent — it should produce one Number One Scholar and three jinshi degree-holders..." Tianlai, hearing the conversation abruptly veer into geomancy, found it odd and out of place and had to suppress a smile. He asked, "This concerns a lucky site in your family — but we were talking about business. How did this come into it?" Zongkong replied, "Don't be impatient — let me work through it step by step. It turns out there is a stone building in front of the tomb that is blocking the good geomancy. If the building could be demolished and leveled, the benefits would be immediate. That stone building is your family's property. So Qibo specially sent me to discuss it with you, to ask if you would be willing to give it up. When your late father built that stone building, I know about it — it cost around a thousand taels. When I asked Qibo today how much he was willing to offer, he said three thousand on the spot. I think, given his strong desire for exam success, he would probably pay ten thousand if pressed. If you agree to sell, I can guarantee ten thousand taels. There is one thing to make clear first, though: it will be divided seventy-thirty. If the deal goes through, you get seven thousand and I get three thousand. Nephew, a building that cost just over a thousand taels, sold for seven thousand — is that not several times over?"

Tianlai was startled and replied, "Ah, I see! But this stone building was built by my late father with his own hands. He always spoke of it, saying that whatever circumstances might come, for three generations the stone building must not be sold or destroyed; it must be preserved. After three generations, with changing times and circumstances, he could not make provision. These were my father's words. With my father's bones not yet cold, how could I change this so soon? It is troubling, though, to learn that the building affects your family's geomancy."

Zongkong, seeing that Tianlai's words seemed to carry some flexibility, thought inwardly that Tianlai was objecting to the large cut being taken, and so added, "If you are willing to make the deal, the commission can be negotiated. It doesn't have to be thirty percent — even twenty would be open for discussion." Tianlai replied, "It is not about that — it is only that I am constrained by my late father's instructions, and so find it difficult." Zongkong said, "Nephew, you are mistaken. A father's instruction carries weight, of course, but that father is long dead. What good comes of upholding a dead father's command without any benefit? How much better to follow the wishes of a living relative and make a profit?" Junlai had been listening with growing impatience. He said, "Uncle! What kind of talk is this? It is only usual for young people to be degenerate and ruin what their ancestors built — and then for elders to step in and restrain them. If the restraint is ignored, there is still the means of correction. How is it that you, an uncle, are saying such things — egging us, your nephews, to take the path of the unfilial? Whatever else happens, my brother and I will not sell that building. And we are not without a livelihood — we have a modest business that still feeds us. Uncle, I think you had better say no more!"

Tianlai's son Yangfu put in his word: "Frankly, it's laughable — other people's perfectly good residential building, and now it's blocking the geomancy again! When you fail the examinations, instead of blaming your own blocked intellect, you say the examiner is blind! If you want to pass, why not read a few more essays and practice a few more lines of classical calligraphy, instead of trying to buy up other people's houses? Since when did a provincial graduate grow up from beneath a building? Now, we have actually been talking about building a garden and haven't been able to find a suitable plot of land — and Cousin Guixing's house would fit the site perfectly. I wonder if he would be willing to sell it to us?"

Tianlai at once silenced him, then said to Zongkong, "Children speak without weighing their words — please don't take offense. As for me, I dare not disobey my father's instructions. I hope Uncle will convey my regrets to Qibo and ask him to forgive this refusal. In truth, geomancy is vague and insubstantial — not a sound basis for such concerns. Why trouble one's heart over it?"

Having been put in his place by both Junlai and Yangfu, Zongkong had no graceful exit — until Tianlai's words gave him a roundabout opening, and he left without a further word. Tianlai made no effort to detain him and saw him to the main gate before parting.

Tianlai turned back in and reproached Junlai and Yangfu: "Even if we were not selling to him, we should have sent him off properly. You uncle and nephew should not have said things to provoke him. Do you know what they say in Tan Village and the surrounding settlements? There are two rhymes about them: 'Fear not the thunder-god — only fear Zongkong; fear not the bodhisattva — only fear Qibo.' Their conduct speaks for itself. Zongkong's nickname, by the way, is 'Ground-Crawling Centipede.' You two had to go and step on his head — beware of bringing trouble down on us. Do not count on me to protect you!" These words left Junlai and Yangfu in sullen silence.

As for Zongkong: smarting from the dressing-down, he stalked out and hired a boat, rowing straight to Mude Li ward. He disembarked, marched straight into Guixing's home, and poured out every word that Tianlai, Junlai, and Yangfu had said — not sparing a single syllable — in a torrent of speech. When he was done, he looked sideways to gauge Guixing's reaction. Guixing sighed and said, "That cousin Tianlai can hold firm to our late uncle's instructions — in this day and age, among common people, that is truly rare." Zongkong had expected Guixing to be furious; instead, far from being angry, he praised Tianlai. Zongkong was taken aback and said, "Tianlai is at least understandable, but what Junlai said was really beyond the pale!" Guixing replied, "What he said was reasonable enough." Zongkong pressed him anxiously: "That brute Yangfu spoke without the least decency." Guixing replied, "He is a child — what does a child know? Why bother with him?" Zongkong said, "A child... not such a child — a man past twenty, already married — is that still a child? And besides, Tianlai behaved unreasonably too — when he heard his son speak, he immediately took his side as well, and said that — Young Master, do not be angry — this is me repeating what Tianlai said — he said that at the time, the Ling... young master, do not lose your temper, I am merely quoting Liang Tianlai — he said that at the time, Ling Guixing's father had been nothing but a pauper, who owed everything to his own father for lifting him up. Now that he has a few tainted coins to his name, he is flaunting himself like this, even reaching out to buy our house — has he no shame?" Hearing this, Guixing blazed with fury.

What would come of this rage? Read on to the next chapter.